"Hoot! Hoot! We have viiiiiisitors!" a brash voice shouted, being the loudest they possibly could. Titan, that voice! It was so sharp I swore it could've easily shattered the skull on my head, horns and all!
Seriously! Could our house demon get any more annoying? You know what, I actually didn't want an answer to that. Cause, if it was a "yes", I was gonna throw myself into the boiling sea.
"And who are these visitors exactly, Hooty?" the much more tolerable voice of an older witch hollered from the kitchen. Our weird bird…tube… worm-like house demon slunk out of the open window he was sitting in while he opened the door to reveal our visitors. They looked, kinda', familiar but, even if I hadn't ever seen them before, their emerald-colored hair was a dead giveaway to who they were.
They were a set of twins, practically identical. Their intimidating golden eyes were the same. Their pale skin was the same. Even their stance was the same, both laxly standing with their arms loosely crossed. If one didn't wear heavier makeup and had longer braided hair you couldn't've been able to tell them apart.
The Blight twins: the richest pair of weasels on the Isles. I didn't know them well, but I did know their younger sister. Her name was Amity but I referred to her as "The Cupcake Crusher".
The name was originally meant to hold scorn since Amity used to deserve it. She had almost gotten my loyal subject, Luz, stabbed just to spite Willow. She tried to crush Luz's dream of being a witch all because Luz tried to apologize for getting her in trouble. And she did the absolutely unthinkable! She squashed my tasty offering from the baking coven and laughed about it! She dared to laugh at me: the mighty King!
But then, something happened. What that something was, I didn't know. Something about Luz and Amity saving each other from a monster-fied children's book character and angering a slitherbeast with a training wand. But no matter what exactly happened, Amity truly changed.
She started to stand up for others, and herself, more and tried her hardest to clean up her rough past. She was now dedicated, not to being on top, but to protecting the people she cared about (even if she had to annoyingly remind you, she had a girlfriend in the meanwhile).
The name "Cupcake Crusher" was no longer a reminder of how she destroyed my perfectly good cupcake in cold blood but instead referred to a symbolic cupcake. The cupcake represented her inner demons, a side of her she fought tooth and nail to keep at bay.
It was common to see her visit the owl house, what with Luz living there and all, but her siblings only came over to occasionally help Luz with some harebrained scheme. And what was even more odd was that they were both missing their staple smug grins.
They instead looked worried. They, of course, were trying to hide it but you could tell that something was up.
"Ah, Baby Blights. What can I do for you?" the witch from the kitchen greeted after she stumbled into the living room. One of the twins, Emira I think her name was, let her arms drop to her side as her stance grew more rigid.
"Miss Owl Lady?". The way her voice slightly shuttered made the black fur on my back stand up. Something was definitely wrong.
"Please, kid. Call me Eda" the owl lady interrupted.
"Right. Eda, we need your help. Amity's in grave danger". As Emira's voice grew uncharacteristically desperate, Eda's composed smirk melted away. The white skinned witch let out a worried sigh, the fire in her one golden eye faded to where it almost matched the dullness of the other one.
I grew worried, too. For one, I didn't want the Cupcake Crusher to get hurt. If something happened to her, it would devastate Luz. She was already crushed by the incident with the self-made portal a few weeks before, only having her reflection make it to her home realm. If something happened to her beloved girlfriend, my favorite underling wouldn't be able to go on.
And second, if Amity was in danger, did that mean Luz was too? They were both at the same place, on some field trip that was quickly thrown together when the parent creature association complained. Did the danger have something to do with the weird hotel they were all staying at?
"And what is this "grave danger"?" I asked, sounding much calmer than I actually was. After all, a good king mustn't release his fear so easily lest risk panicking his subjects.
Ok I may not have been the actual king of demons, despite believing that for most of my life. But I was still a demon who deserved to be revered, so I still had to set a good example.
"That's the thing," the other twin, Edric, answered. "We don't know exactly. All we know is some large tragedy is gonna happen and it's gonna center around Amity".
Eda nodded before hmming. "Odalia decided to use her magic to spy on her kid, huh?" she joked with a tiny bit of annoyance in her voice.
"Yeah, She… does that… like a lot" Emira deadpanned, her worry faltering for a moment to allow her annoyance to seep through.
"But, for once, mom being a total prude is a good thing. Usually, her scrying is really annoying, but Amity needs us to butt in this time. We definitely can't let her face this "tragedy" alone" Edric added.
Uneasiness made my chest feel heavy. It propelled me towards Eda and urged me to climb onto her shoulder to be at eye-level with the twins. Despite how much I wanted to just say it was her mother being too paranoid and/or controlling, the snooty witch took her craft very seriously. If she said there was a problem, there was a problem.
"The prediction mom received about Amity promised she would "become an amalgamation of beauty" when "Blight and Bane" was melded together. Of course, the amalgamation of beauty gave off a promising aura but…". We all sat there for a moment, giving Emira a chance to continue. When she didn't, Edric jumped in for her.
"The word "Bane" gave mom a really weird vibe. She said it promised "tragedy" and that it "reeked of death". The Blight stopped for a moment, his eyes twitching back and forth slightly while he searched for what else to say.
"None of us liked the sound of that so Emira and I are heading to the hotel they're at" he finished.
Now I was more curious than worried. I was still worried but what the heck was any of that supposed to mean? I was about to ask just that, but Eda spoke first. I don't think I had ever heard her sound more serious.
"Did your mother hear anything else?". Eda's voice was deep and commanding, a complete one-eighty from her usual laid-back tone.
"She did," Emira answered hesitantly. "But she didn't tell us exactly what she was told. She just said that she got a few ominous messages about Willow and also heard something about Luz and the "Nocedas".
"Nocedas? As in more than one of them? But there's only one of them here" I pressed.
So Luz was in danger! Why else would the wicked Blight be told about Luz's future? And yet that no good pompous hellhound only cared about her child! We wouldn't have known Luz was in trouble had the twins not asked for our help!
"There will be more than one of them soon, I guess. Mom didn't really go that much into details about anyone else but Amity" Emira responded before her brother cut in once again.
"We think Luz is in danger too, though. Mom said both Willow's and Luz's futures were "soaked in hopelessness".
Both twins stepped closer.
"Can you help us?" they said in unison.
"Please!".
"We're begging you!".
"We'll pay you! We have a ton of snails on us!".
"Kids! Kids! Please!" Eda snapped tiredly. "Of course, I'm going to help you save Bossy Boots, but I need a second to think first".
I could tell by the way her shoulders slightly shook beneath me that she was more than just worried. Not only was Amity in danger but so was her favorite adopted/kidnapped human. Luz meant a lot to her and, though she'd never admit it, she enjoyed having the girl and her friends in her life.
Heck, so did I. I couldn't deny that Luz was more than just another one of my subjects. She had become family the moment she joined our group of weirdos.
And Amity? She cooked me snacks! Wonderful, wonderful, snacks! Anyone who hurt her, and her amazing baking skills had to die by my claws!
"We have to go to the hotel right away!" I urged right into Eda's ear. It twitched in annoyance, but the witch just ignored my shouting otherwise.
"We can't just jump headfirst into this, King" the weathered witch argued, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"But that's literally our thing" I argued back.
"This is different. The predictions Odalia received make it clear that someone, if not a lot of people, will die"The owl lady spat before she sighed out all of her worry, attempting to seem as calm as possible. I didn't think it fooled the twins and it definitely didn't fool me.
"Alright, Baby Blights. How good are you at sneaking?".
"We're pretty damn good at it," Edric joked smugly. That had to be the first time either of the Blights had smiled since we answered the door. "At least, according to all the gullible suckers round here, we are".
"Good" Eda nodded. "And you, King? You don't have to do this if you don't want to. This is gonna be really dangerous".
I literally put my foot down as I declared, "No, Eda. I have to do this. I am not going to back down while Luz is in danger!".
"Ok. Then you go with the Twins and try to scan the situation as much as you can. I'll be right behind you. I just need to make a call first" she continued.
She grabbed me by the scruff and plopped me on to the ground. I gave her a quick salute then wriggled my way up to the top of Emira's head. Luckily for the Blight, she was smart enough not to complain.
"Whoever is daring to mess with the great Loyal Luz and the mighty Cupcake Crusher shall feel my unbridled wrath!" I vowed to the sky. "They will die to the gory sight of blood and broken bones!".
"Get going!" Eda ordered. "Who knows how long Luz and Amity have left before this "tragedy" happens." The witch's scowl then melted as she finally let her worry flow out.
"And please, kids. Be careful".
The Blight siblings ran as fast as they could through the thick woodland. They knew where to go thanks to Odalia. As the head of the Parent Creature Association, she demanded to know exactly where the kids were being taken to. At least her bitterness was good for something, right?
Surprisingly, the hotel wasn't far, about an hour by foot. I hadn't even broken a sweat before we arrived, and I speed-walked for a whole ten minutes.
Couldn't say the same about the Blights, though. They looked like zombies. They were paler than usual, their foreheads were drenched in sweat, Edric looked ready to collapse. Well, it was their sister who was the grudgby player, not them.
While they were standing there catching their breaths, I took in the sight of the old hotel. When Luz told me it was in the middle of nowhere, she meant it. Sure, we were close to a small fishing town by the boiling sea, but it was still far enough to where you wouldn't stay at the hotel if you wanted to visit it.
Maybe you would stay in it for the view, it was on a cliff that overlooked the sea. Or maybe you'd do some nature stuff in the woods right behind it.
But who in their right mind would stay in a worn-down hotel, in the middle of nowhere, just to go hiking? News flash, you can do that while staying in a nice hotel in Bonesburrow.
Oh, and when I say worn down, I meant so weathered that it belonged in a horror novel. It was made of strangely red bricks (most of the bricks used on the Isles were tan or brown) that were all cracked and crumbling in some way. This weird green plant made of vines crawled all the way up the outside of the building. The entrance was at the front of the main building and most of the rooms were on long extension on both sides.
What stuck out most about the hotel was the balcony three stories above the main entrance. It looked way newer than the rest of the hotel though it was probably just as ancient.
The two gargoyles hanging off the railings looked like they hadn't aged a day, easily dive bombing towards us with their freshly polished wings.
…
Wait. What!
"Hey guys" I cried out while I backed up a bit. "Think we got a problem here".
Before either of the twins could see the gargoyles, one of the stone beasts crashed into Emira and pinned her to the ground. His hand was as big as the witches' head and his claws looked sharp enough to tear through her like a drenched piece of paper.
"I told yah they're Blights" he shouted. The beast gently moved Emira's head from side to side as he examined her face. "With how fancy she is, boss'll have ta give us a raise".
"She's not for sale!" Edric snarled with a taunting smile. "And neither am I!".
The other gargoyle took that as a sign to leap at the other Blight. The demon was fast, but Edric was more ready for the attack than his sister was. He was able to roll out of the way just in time as well as summon chains around his attacker's thick tail.
The stone beast's partner was so busy watching the struggle that he didn't notice Emira quickly twirl her finger around and summon her own set of chains. They wrapped around the gargoyle's neck like a collar that was way too small for the dog it was on. When she pulled the chain leash as hard as she could, it made the collar constrict so tightly the stone underneath began to crack. The gargoyle yowled out in pain before rearing back enough for Emira to escape his grasp. There was my chance. I had to attack while Emira still had a good hold on him.
I lept forwards, landing on all fours right in front of the demon. I took a deep breath in just as the gargoyle was recovering and let out a powerful cry. The sound hurtled towards him like an immovable wave.
He noticed my attack impressively quickly and started cowering in his paws. Insolent fool! Nothing could save him now! My deadly wail could cut through stone!
And cut through stone it did, just not in the way I had hoped it would. Usually my dangerous "weh" could turn boulders into nothing but rubble but all it did this time was break off a part of the gargoyle's face!
"How did you survive?! You should've crumbled!" I yowled. The beast just laughed, his chuckle growing stronger when he looked to the sky.
"Hey, you oversized paper weight, let me go!". From the grasp of the incredibly strong gargoyle, Edric wriggled and squirmed. His supposed threats were made completely useless by the way his voice kept cracking in fear.
The stone beast had his giant paw around Edric's neck as he drug him through the air. The witch grasped onto the side of the gargoyle's arm, trying his best not to be suffocated by his foe. The other gargoyle said their boss would pay nicely for the two Blight children, but he never said they had to be alive.
"Titandammit! Edric!" his sister cried out as she drew another spell circle and summoned magical rope after magical rope. Seeing that her twin's capture broke right through the cables, she summoned a whip around the beast's tail and tried to yank him back to the ground, also to no avail.
I began to barrage soundwave after soundwave at the demon which began to chip some pieces off of its scaly back. I thought if I did it enough, he would at least drop Edric, but the demon didn't even flinch when a larger chunk of his back fell to the ground.
As slowly as he possibly could, he flew back to the balcony and threw his hostage through the now open doors at the back of it. Then as fast as a flash of light, the beast dove towards Emira who had since lost her hold on him.
Edric launched right back out of the building like he was thrown from it. He tried to leap over the railing, hence back into battle, but the witch was met with a thick shining red barrier. After a panicked, "huh", he tried to use his magic only to find that his spells instantly dissolved in the wind.
"Shit. Shit. Shit! This isn't good!".
Emira let out a frustrated growl as she struggled against her rocky foe, who now had his giant claws digging into her waist. "Edric! Hold on! I'm coming to help!" she shouted, her fear making her voice raise higher than usual.
"No! Go get Eda! If you stay, you'll just get stuck too!".
Emira wiggled out of the gargoyle's grasp, her pale skin ripping in the process.
"You could be dead by the time we get back!"
The injured witch tried to dodge the barrage of massive claws but failed. A massive talon snagged Emira's shoulder, knocking her to the ground.
"Yeah but that's better than both of us dying, isn't it?!".
At that point, the Blight brother was pacing back and forth as he watched his sister struggle. The only thing he could do was pray to the titan that she could escape.
The other gargoyle's laughing became almost maniacal. He wasn't lifting another claw to fight us since his partner seemed to be taking pretty good care of things.
How dare they! They thought this was funny, that this was some game they were easily winning! This was no game! This was battle, WAR, against the scariest foe they'll ever have the honor of being slain by!
Fiery anger and explosive frustration mixed into an explosive shriek! The laughing Gargoyle didn't even notice the attack this time. He just crumbled into nothing but a messy pile of stone and dust, like he should have the first time.
The gargoyle attacking Emira shot into the air as soon as he heard my screech of rage. He almost made it out of the soundwave's reach, with the other Blight in his claws to boot, but my attack hit his wing, causing him to lose control.
Before he plummeted down to the hard ground, he grabbed the edge of the balcony. He refused to let go of Emira instead squishing the witches head against the surface he was clinging on to.
The girl's screams were agonizing. If you focused enough, you could make out the word's "help", "please", and "stop" but they were disturbingly distorted the more and more the creature's weight pressed into her head. All the while, the witch's twin was shouting as loud as he could in desperation.
"Let her go! Please! You're killing her! Let go!".
I was frozen solid. The awful sounds Emira made filled my mind with a deep thick fog. The only thing that felt real in that moment was the helpless feeling flooding through me.
And then, I heard it. Shoving past her tortuous cries she called out a name, my name. That flicked a switch deep inside of me. My confusing sensation of fear disappeared and was replaced with a determined kind of courage.
It was a knee-jerk reaction, really. I didn't realize I did it until after it was done. But, as quickly as a demon possibly could, I threw a giant soundwave up towards the gargoyle. It slammed into him at full force, once again injuring his wings as well as his sharp claws.
The beast lost his grip and plummeted to the terrain below. Emira's limp body began to slide off the patio, but her brother sprang into action and hauled her up by her arms.
Then there was nothing but quiet. It was abrasive compared to the chaos that was just a second ago. The lack of noise hurt more than any hit either gargoyle could've thrown.
"Emira?" a pained voice asked, breaking through the silence. The witch didn't stir causing Edric to go nearly hysterical. "Com'on! You've gotta wake up! We've gotta go save Amity and you can't do that and bleed to death at the same time, right?!".
The last thing I saw of the two Blights was a disturbing scene. Edric was vigorously shaking his unconscious sister, begging for her to wake up. I tried my best to keep my eye on Emira's body. I wanted to see her get up so I knew she was ok. But I was still in the middle of a fight.
Despite his wings being nothing but stubs and his face being cracked like shattered glass, my injured enemy had survived his fall! And now, he was angrily rushing towards me with the speed of a rabid griffin!
I didn't want to run. I wanted to fight, to save Edric and Emira, who had to be still alive! But Edric was right. It would be better if someone ran away to warn Eda.
Eda. She would help them! She would break through that barrier like it was glass and drag Edric and Emira and Luz and Amity, all of them, back to the Owl house where we would all laugh this off, right?
"Hold on!" I shouted even though who I was talking to was far behind me. "I'm going to get Eda! Just try to stay alive until then!".
As I swiftly dove under a dead tree, into the brush, I ducked into a large leafy bush. I hoped with all the might in my small body that the monster was confused by my sudden change in direction.
It seemed to have worked since the gargoyle stopped in his tracks before he angrily began to pace in front of the woodland I was hidden within. Until the demon ran out of energy, I could only sit as quietly as I could.
All the while I began to shake. My eyes began to slightly water while I hugged myself tightly. I whispered out one more tiny plea.
"Please. Stay alive until then".